"He looked pretty cut up about it - I felt for him, too, the poor bugger."

Featherston police remain at the scene investigating the cause of the crash.

Wellington Free Ambulance Spokesman Daniel Paul said the man, aged in his late 50s, had suffered serious injuries including multiple fractures to his right arm and "very severe" damage to his lower right leg.

A Wellington Hospital spokesman said the man was in stable condition and would be admitted to the ward.